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Did you miss these thought-provoking, intriguing and discussible books recommended by your library staff?

  Solar by Ian McEwen

“Michael Beard is a Nobel prize-winning physicist whose best work is behind him. Trading on his reputation, he speaks for enormous fees, lends his name to the letterheads of renowned scientific institutions, and half-heartedly heads a government-backed initiative tackling global warming. While he coasts along in his professional life, Michael’s personal life is another matter entirely. His fifth marriage is crumbling under the weight of his infidelities. But this time the tables are turned: His wife is having an affair, and Michael realizes he is still in love with her. When Michael’s personal and professional lives begin to intersect in unexpected ways, an opportunity presents itself in the guise of an invitation to travel to New Mexico. Here is a chance for him to extricate himself from his marital problems, reinvigorate his career, and very possibly save the world from environmental disaster. Can a man who has made a mess of his life clean up the messes of humanity? A complex novel that brilliantly traces the arc of one man’s ambitions and self-deceptions, Solaris a startling, witty, and stylish new work from one of the world’s great writers.”

  Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt

“Though still reeling from their daughter’s untimely death, Rosenblatt and his wife, Ginny, carry on, reconstructing a family, sustaining one another, and guiding three lively, alert, and tender-hearted grandchildren through the pains and confusions of grief.”

  A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks

“From the author of the bestselling “Birdsong” comes a powerful novel that melds the moral heft of Dickens with the satirical spirit of Tom Wolfe. With daring skill and savage humor, “A Week in December” explores the complex patterns of modern urban life.”

  Birthright:  The True Story That Inspired Kidnapped by A. Roger Ekrich

“Ekirch (History, Virginia Tech University) tells the story of James Annesley, whose travails in the 18th century inspired several novels, including Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped. The heir to five aristocratic titles, Annesley was kidnapped by his uncle at age 12 and shipped off to America as an indentured servant. He escaped after 12 years, returning to Ireland to press a famous court case to prove his identity and regain his birthright. Based on Ekirch’s extensive research into Annesley’s life and court trials, this is a book of history that, not surprisingly, reads just like a novel.”

  The Battery:  How Portable Power Sparked a Technological Revolution by Henry Schlesinger

“Taking readers from the Leyden Jar and Galvani’s twitching frog legs to modern laptop batteries, the author shows how the development of battery technology was frequently a matter of luck rather than inspiration or scientific rigor. An appendix discusses the 2000-year old “Baghdad batteries,” maintaining the element of mystery while thoroughly debunking any connection to UFOs or space aliens. Making a convincing argument that batteries are essential to our modern world, this lively book should interest a wide range of readers.”

  My Life as an Experiment by A. J. Jacobs

“One man. Ten extraordinary quests. Bestselling author and human guinea pig A. J. Jacobs puts his life to the test and reports on the surprising and entertaining results. He goes undercover as a woman, lives by George Washington’s moral code, and impersonates a movie star. He practices “radical honesty,” brushes his teeth with the world’s most rational toothpaste, and outsources every part of his life to India — including reading bedtime stories to his kids. And in a new adventure, Jacobs undergoes scientific testing to determine how he can put his wife through these and other life-altering experiments — one of which involves public nudity. Filled with humor and wisdom, My Life as an Experiment will immerse you in eye-opening situations and change the way you think about the big issues of our time — from love and work to national politics and breakfast cereal.”

  Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

“On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared. Then, on the ocean surface, the face of a young lieutenant appeared as he struggled to pull himself aboard a life raft. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.”

  The Last Stand by Nathaniel Philbrick

“The bestselling author of Mayflower sheds new light on one of the iconic stories of the American West. Little Bighorn and Custer are names synonymous in the American imagination with unmatched bravery and spectacular defeat. Mythologized as Custer’s Last Stand, the June 1876 battle has been equated with other famous last stands, from the Spartans’ defeat at Thermopylae to Davy Crockett at the Alamo. In his tightly structured narrative, Nathaniel Philbrick brilliantly sketches the two larger-than-life antagonists: Sitting Bull, whose charisma and political savvy earned him the position of leader of the Plains Indians, and George Armstrong Custer, one of the Union’s greatest cavalry officers and a man with a reputation for fearless and often reckless courage. Philbrick reminds readers that the Battle of the Little Bighorn was also, even in victory, the last stand for the Sioux and Cheyenne Indian nations. Increasingly outraged by the government’s Indian policies, the Plains tribes allied themselves and held their ground in southern Montana. Within a few years of Little Bighorn, however, all the major tribal leaders would be confined to Indian reservations. Throughout, Philbrick beautifully evokes the history and geography of the Great Plains with his characteristic grace and sense of drama. The Last Stand is a mesmerizing account of the archetypal story of the American West, one that continues to haunt our collective imagination.”